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December 10, 2009 Bangorbiz

UMaine biz school extends scholarship

Photo/University of Maine John Mahon, dean of UMaine's College of Business, Public Policy and Health
By Jackie Farwell

Getting a business degree just got a little easier for students in Maine. The Maine Business School at the University of Maine has extended a pilot graduate school scholarship to include students who graduated from any of the state's colleges or universities.

An earlier version of the initiative announced last March was open only to UMaine graduates. The scholarship covers 25% of the tuition for UMaine's master of business administration program. Based on current costs, in-state tuition for the 42-credit program totals roughly $16,000, valuing the scholarship at about $4,000.

"We're trying to offer opportunity," John Mahon, dean of UMaine's College of Business, Public Policy and Health, told Mainebiz. Today's business school graduates are competing with more experienced laid-off workers for job openings, and those who do find work are typically among the first let go when times get tough, he says. "Students who are graduating are facing a much more contentious labor market."

The scholarship is expected to phase out as the economy recovers. Mahon hopes the scholarship itself, by encouraging more of Maine's best and brightest to get business educations, will play a role in that recovery.

According to the Brookings Institution's "Charting Maine's Future" report, Maine jobs requiring higher education are expected to grow considerably by 2012. Job growth among positions requiring a master's degree is projected at 23.6% between 2002 and 2012. Maine narrowly beats the national average in the number of residents aged 25 and over who hold higher degrees, but still lags behind the New England average, according to the 2009 "Measures of Growth" report by the Maine Development Foundation.

Funded through private donors and savings within the UMaine business school, the scholarship will cover 25% of tuition for the duration of students' enrollment, even if costs rise. Enterprising learners can graduate from the master's program in as little as a year, Mahon says.

Academically qualified students who graduated from a Maine post-secondary school in May 2008 or later, and students who plan to graduate in 2010, are eligible for the scholarship. Applicants must enroll full time and are asked to commit to 10 hours a week of service to the Maine Business School or to community outreach activities.

Only two students -- two twin engineering graduates from UMaine -- applied for the original scholarship rolled out in March, Mahon says. Upon some reflection, he says, "March was too late to roll it out," because students had already made decisions about graduate school.

About 100 students are enrolled in the master of business administration program this academic year, with about 60% attending part time, according to Mahon. There's plenty of room for more, he says.

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